Rain-Soaked Shadows — The First Clash

The rain outside painted the world in muted gray, tapping softly against the glass pane like a forgotten melody. Inside the small tea stall, the aroma of steaming chai mingled with the scent of wet earth, creating a strangely comforting cocoon of quiet amidst the noise of the street. Laughter echoed from a table nearby where Dev, Rehaan, and Tara were seated, trying to make small talk to dissolve the awkwardness Zid's presence had brought with him. But Kiaan—he stood apart.

By the window, his arms folded loosely, Kiaan's eyes weren't on the rain. They were somewhere else. Somewhere darker. Somewhere no one could reach. The rhythmic droplets blurred his vision, but not the memories. Every breath Rex had taken, every sound he had made while towering above him, every whispered word against his ear, every cruel brush of his hand—each moment replayed like a haunting film he couldn't stop. His body might have healed on the surface, but inside? He still felt every scar like a brand carved in silence.

Kiaan didn't even notice when Zid walked up beside him.

Zid, tall and composed, his lean frame casting a calm yet strange shadow in the rain-washed light. He stood at the same window, pretending to enjoy the view. But his eyes—sharp, calculating—glanced sideways, and landed on Kiaan's wrist, where the cursed tattoo marked him still.

"You alright now?" Zid asked, voice calm… too calm.

Kiaan blinked, pulled out of his reverie as if someone yanked him from a deep pool of silence. He instinctively followed Zid's gaze and realized his sleeve had ridden up slightly. The name "Reyaan Malhotra" still etched into his skin like a curse. Shame and fury warred in his chest as he quickly pulled the sleeve down.

"I'm fine," Kiaan replied, curt but controlled.

Zid let out a slow, deliberate breath and gave a small smirk. "It's better not to poke the devil," he said, voice laced with something far deeper than casual advice—something closer to warning.

Kiaan narrowed his eyes. "What did you just say?"

Zid looked at him now, the rain reflecting in his eyes like glints of steel. "You're twenty-one, right? I'm older. So… just take it from someone who's seen more. Don't tempt things that aren't meant to be controlled, Captain."

Kiaan's brows furrowed—not from anger, but suspicion. The tone Zid used was too familiar with fear, too intimate with darkness. He didn't sound like someone who heard stories of monsters—he sounded like someone who's met them.

Kiaan straightened, his voice calm but iron-clad. "You might be older. But inside HQ, age doesn't define authority—rank does. And I'm your team captain, Zid. You follow my orders, not my nightmares."

A thick silence brewed between them, broken only by the patter of rain.

Zid didn't flinch. His smirk faded, but his gaze held steady. "Of course, Captain. Just… trying to look out for you."

From across the room, Dev, Rehaan, and Tara watched the tension crackle in the air. Dev whispered to Rehaan, "Did he just try to warn Kiaan? Or test him?"

Rehaan replied without looking away, "Maybe both."

As the moment passed, Kiaan turned back to the window, but his fingers subtly pressed the hidden tattoo beneath the fabric, as if trying to erase its memory by force. Zid stepped away with the quiet confidence of a man who had planted a seed and was already watching it take root.

Rain continued to pour—but it wasn't enough to wash away the storm that had just begun between two soldiers cloaked in secrets.